What exciting things have we been doing at Llanharan Primary School?
Monday 6th September:SCHOOL CLOSED WEDNESDAY 8TH SEPTEMBERDue to major water works being undertaken on this day, Llanharan Primary School has to close for the day. We have contacted the water board to try to minimise the disruption to our school day, but have been informed that major works will be ongoing throughout the day. We will have no water for toilets, hand washing, cooking lunch etc... and we have no other option but to close the school on health and safety grounds.[]Over the school holidays new security doors and codes were fitted to four of our exterior doors, Mrs. Hobrow's class has been painted and all of the wood has had a fresh coat of gloss. Also, new book shelves, cupboards and some fantastic resources were delivered and are now in place for the start of the new term. Fruit tuck is on sale for pupils from Years 1-6 in our morning break snack shop at a cost of 30p per day. There is always a wide variety of fruit on sale and pupils choose their favourites. Children may bring their tuck money every day in a marked envelope. []We are delighted to welcome the RCT Langauge and Play team to Llanharan Primary School for a series of short, informal and fun programmes for parents, grandparents and carers anf their children of 0-3 years of age. This free programme aims to share ideas and activities, have a tea or coffee, chance to meet others and ask the team any questions about your child's language development.[]If your child is interested in guitar lessons or continuing guitar lessons please contact the school as there are only 6 spaces available. You child will need access to their own acoustic guitar and will need to be dedicated. As numbers are restricted, if pupils forget their guitar on three consecutive occasions, their place will be removed and allocated to another pupil. Dates for the Diary:Tuesday 14th September - Dogs Trust visit the school and run workshops for all pupilsTuesday 21st September - Year 5/6 trip to Big Pit and the Iron Works (details to follow)Tuesday 21st September - Language and Play programme for parents and babies starting from 9:30am-11:30am.Wednesday 6th October - Individual School PhotosMonday 18th October - Leon Charles (rap artist) visits school and runs 'rap workshops'.Friday 5th November - School Diwali celebrationsMonday 8th November - Nursery & Reception parents meetings - 1:15pm - 3:30pmTuesday 9th November - Year 1&2 parents meetings - 1:15pm - 3:30pmWednesday 10th November - Year 3&4 parents evening - 1:15pm - 3:30pmThursday 11th November - Year 4/5/6 parents evening - 1:15pm - 3:30pmMonday 6th December - Christmas Concert dress rehearsal at 1:30pm (free ticket, mince pie and tea/coffee for OAPs)Tueday 7th December - Christmas Concert (Juniors - 2:00pm - Infants - 5:30pm)Wednesday 8th December - Christmas Concert (Infants - 2:00pm - Junior - 5:30pm)Monday 13th December - Nursery & Reception trip to Grand Pavillion, Porth Cawl to see Jack and the Beanstalk. Monday 13th December - Years 1-6 trip to New Theatre Cardiff to see Cinderella.[]Friday 16th July:
As you know, today is te last day of the school year. Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd September will be INSET Days and pupils will start back on Monday 6th September. Have a good Summer!
Wednesday 14th July:
Today the Year 6 children had their World Premier of their Leaver's Film, 'Macbeth'. The half an hour film was premiered in their carpet area with an audience of parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. The film, which the children have been working on for some time contains five sections, two acting scenes, one puppet theatre scene, one shadow puppet scene and a stop-frame animation scene. The film even contains a Blooper reel, but only a short one, if we included all bloopers then we would have a film to rival the Lord of the Rings Trilogy in length! The film premiere was followed by our Owlies with all pupils getting an award to represent their achievements this year. The final part of the afternoon was the presentation of the Luke O'Brien Memorial Shield, presented for outstanding achievement in literacy, which went to Lucy Anthony. The full Owlies can be found on the following PowerPoint slide show.
Tuesday 7th July:
Today some of our junior children went to St. David's Hall to watch a performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. They were treated to performances of the theme tunes to Dr. Who and Star Wars. One of our pupils, Jordan from Year 3, was chosen to go on stage and join six other school children in playing horns at a certain point during a song. They also saw a suprise performance from the BBC's 'Over the Rainbow' runner up Sophie Evans who sang 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. The conductor taught the audience of school children about the different parts of the orchestra.
Monday 6th July:
Our Year 6 pupils have been working with PC Daniels and PC John over the past few weeks on their SAFE Project. They have been learning about various things such as the effects of drugs, smoking and alcohol on people's bodies and the damage that anti social behaviour can do. Today PC Daniels came to present the Year 6 pupils with their certificates and T-shirts. Pupils were also awarded tokens during and at the end of every session based on their attitude, effort and behaviour. The pupil with the most overall tokens at the end of the project was awarded with a special prize. Our winner of this award was Alana.
Sunday 27th June:
We entered a team into the Brynna Primary School Fete 7 a-side football tournament. We started off slowly losing 6-0, but then managed to get on the score sheet in the next game, still suffering a 5-1 defeat. These results put us into the Plate final where we won 2-0, bringing home a shield for the school. Congratulations to the 8 Year 5/6 pupils involved and many thanks to the parents for taking their children to the tournament. A special thanks goes to Mrs. Williams for accompanying the pupils on the day. Many thanks to Mrs. Carmody for this fantastic team photograph.
Friday 25th June:
This following Monday (28/06/10) will be a non uniform day with a difference. To celebrate the launch of our 'Celebration Week', we are asking pupils to wear Welsh rugby or football tops or red or green clothes. We will not be collecting any money but will instead be asking for a donaton of pre-packed cakes, bottles or tins (please check the expiry dates.
Also Monday is the closing date for our photography competiton. Entries will be judged by BAFTA winning photographer Mr. Paul Cabuts on Thursday 1st July. The overall prize is a Kodak Easy Share C182 digital camera which has been kindly donated by Mrs. Anthony and Talk Training. Many thanks for this donation. More information can be found on our Celebration of Wales Week page HERE.
Thursday 24th June:
Barnaby Bear's adventure in to the media world has continued with the story of his journeys in Afghanistan being picked up by the official Barnaby Bear website run by the Geographical Association. For more on this story clickHERE
Wednesday 23rd June:
Our Barnaby Bear has made the newspapers and appears in today's Ponypridd & Llantrisant Observer and the South Wales Echo. Click HEREto read the story that appears in the South Wales Echo.
Wednesday 16th June:
This year Llanharan Primary School will be celebrating the heritage, customs and traditions of our very own multi-cultural nation, Wales. We have planned an all action week with a story teller Leon Charles, Welsh author Phil Caradice, a Welsh treasure hunt, cookery workshops worm charming event and photography competition. This exciting week will end with our Fun Day at the Welfare Field on Saturday 3rd July. Our annual parade will be based on a Celebration of Wales and the class themes are as follows:
Nursery & Reception: Famous Welsh Pirates
Year 1&2: Sheep and Shepherds, or costumes of green, red and white.
Year 3&4: Famous Welsh celebrities or traditional Welsh costumes
Year 5&6: Welsh miners.
Parents are also welcome to dress up as famous Welsh celebrities (Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Gavin/Stacey/Nessa, rugby starts, Catherine Zeta Jones, Derek the Weatherman etc...) and a cash prize of £50 will be given to the best dressed. We are hoping to have David Roberts CBE as our guest and he will be helping to judge the parents/community fancy dress competition.
Parents are also welcome to join us for our first Worm Charming Event on Thursday 1st July at 2:00pm. This will be our fun way of ending our Environment Wales day. We will be adhering to the very strict World Worm Charming Rules as much as we possibly can, and copies can be found hereand can be obtained from the office. Teams are to be made of 3 adults/children and plase could you inform Mrs. Price by Monday 28th June if you would like to enter.
During our celebration week we will be holding a photography competition with the title 'An image of Wales'. Pupils can enter a photograph in colour, black and white and there will be a class prize and an overall prize of a digital camera. Photographs can be of Llanharan or any place in Wales but must be taken by the children. The winners will be chosen by BAFTA award winning photographer Paul Cabuts on Tursday 1st July. All entries are to be in by Monday 28th June. The photographs will be displayed in the hall on Thursday 1st July and you are very welcome to come and view all entries.
Finally many apologies to Dr. Hibbitts-White and other involved parents for not giving her the credit for her input towards the winning application for improving our school grounds as mentioned in a previous newsletter.
Tuesday 15th June:
Friday 18th June will be a non-uniform day. Donations are tins and bottles for the fete. Also there will be a PTA meeting to discuss the fete on Friday 18yh June at 9:15am.
We would like to thank everyone who donated money for our sponsored bounce. With your help we managed to raise £465.60!
Thursday 10th June:
We will be breaking up for our Summer holidays on Friday 16th July and the children will return to school on Monday 6th September as we have two INSET days on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd September.
We would like to thank all the staff for organising an excellent sports day on the Friday before half term. For the first time in years the sun shone and we actually had our event on the day we planned! Also, thank you to David Roberts CBE for taking a break from his busy swimming schedule to present medals. Congratulations to the medal winners, the Green team and everyone who took part.
We would also like to thank everyone for their support in the sponsored bounce and if you have any outstanding sponsor money could you please send it into school as soon as possible. We will announce our grand total as soon as all money has been collected.
Once again this coming term is going to be an exciting and busy one. Here are some dates for your diary:
Thursday 24th June - WWII Workshop with Year 5/6
Friday 25th June - Romans in Wales workshop with Year 3/4
Monday 28th-Friday 2nd July - A Celebration of Wales - A week of fantastic activities.
Saturday 3rd July - School Fun Day (parade leaving the school at 11:30am. Fete on Welfare field until 4:00pm.)
Tuesday 6th July - BBC Orchestra Concert at St. David's Hall, Cardiff for all juniors (details to follow).
Friday 9th July - Infant Disco, Junior Disco and Leavers Event
Tuesday 13th July - West Midlands Safari Park trip (details to follow).
Wednesday 14th July - Year 6 Leavers Assembly
Friday 16th July - Last day of term / Toy/Game day
During our Celebration of Wales week we will be holding a photography competition with the title 'An Image of Wales'. Pupils can enter a photograph in colour or black and white, and there will be a class prize and an overall prize of a digital camera. Photographs can be of Llanharan or any place in Wales but must be taken by the children. The winners will be chosen by BAFTA award winning photographer Paul Cabuts on Thursday 1st July. All entries to be in by Monday 28th June.
We have been notified that the ASDA initiative 'A Sporting Chance' is being run again this summer holiday. Sporting Chance can help children to make the most of the summer by offering them an exciting range of free activities. If you would like a voucher please contact Mrs. Henderson.
I'd also like to thank Mrs Harries (Molly and Freya's mum) for entering an environmental 'Go Green Schools Competition' on behalf of the school. As a result of her letter of application we have been awarded the first prize of £500. We will now be able to create our very own allotment and pond areas.
We have collected 15,400 TESCO vouchers, thank you for all of your donations. The last day to receive any remaining vouchers will be Friday 11th June, as our order for the equipment is being placed that day.
If you would like to order any of the class photographs, Year 6 Leaver's pack or Nursery Starter pack then please return your order to school by Friday 11th June in order to guarantee delivery prior to the end of term.
Friday 28th May:
This afternoon we held our sports day, our first for three years due to the bad weather we have experienced in the previous years. We brought out event forward a couple of months this year to take advantage of what has in recent years been a more guarenteed spell of good weather. The weather played its part well with sunshine and temperature that was not too hot and not too cold.
We saw a number of fantastic events during the afternoon with close finished in the sprints, obstacle races, relays and marathons. There was also close competition in the javelin and the team tug of war event.
11 times Paralympic Gold Medal winning swimmer David Roberts CBE (Mr. Roberts' brother) was on hand to present medals to the winners throughout the afternoon.
The final team standings saw Blues come in third with 282 points. Second place was Reds with 338 and the overall winners with 386 points were Green.
The full results can be found on the following link:
Tuesday 25th May:
Cheeky Monkey Club is running a Whitsun Picnic on Thursday 27th May from 3:30-5:25pm. There will be a special offer price of £3.00. Bring a small blanket so you can sit on it during the picnic. There will be food and drink, fun and games and music.
Cheeky Monkey Club is also organising a bric-a-brac stall for our fete on 3rd July. We would like to ask parents if they could donate books, CDs, DVDs, Toys (good condition), Board Games (complete), handbags and Costume Jewellery. We are grateful for any donations, however, we would prefer not to receive any of the following items, clothes, electrical goods or extra large items. Thank you very much for your support.
Friday 21st May: Pupils of the Week. Nursery:
Jasmine = Settling in well - Luke = Excellent manners and behaviour Reception:
Eleanor = Excellent listening skills - Sam = Excellent art work Year 1:
Jade = Excellent investigative skills in science - Maddie = Writing her name and address beautifuly Year 2:
Onyx = Excellent investigative skills in science - Joshua = Excellent general knowledge Year 3:
Jack = Youngest rugby player in the tournament - Rosie = Improvement in POPAT and spelling Year 4:
Matthew = POPAT spelling test - David = Good communication in group work Year 5:
Charlotte & Tia = Good parachute science investigation Year 6:
Callum = Excellent scientific enquiry - Sarah & Matthew - Book Review competition winners
Special award = Freya = For helping Mr. Llewelyn with his planting
Tuesday 18th May:
We have recently joined the Healthy Schools Initiative and are currently working towards our first Green Leaf award. As part of this initiative we are setting up our "Fruit for a Water Bottle" scheme. We have ordered water bottles to cover every pupil in the school. To qualify for a free water bottle, children have to:
Have only fruit/vegetable sticks for their snacks on 20 occasions.
Buy (from the fruit tuck shop) or bring from home.
Show their fruit to the Healthy School monitors who will be located by the fruit tuck shop. These will record all of the information on our Healthy Schools Spreadsheet.
If pupils bring a piece of fruit for morning and afternoon break their free water bottle can be claimed within 2 weeks. The water bottles will be named and used playtimes and lesson times to keep pupils hydrated during the Summer months. We now have a cool water dispenser in the lobby and pupils will be able to refil their bottles at break times. Bottles can be taken home at weekends to be cleaned but must be returned on Monday mornings. Replacement caps will be able to be purchased from the office.
Friday 14th May: Pupil of the Week Nursery & Reception:
Eliza = Good money activities - Samay = Working much better theis week. Reception:
Keegan = Working well all week! - Cameron = Finding out about frogs Year 1:
Natasha = Outstanding Maths work - Molly = Always working hard and always with a smile. Year 2:
Sophie = Excellent mental maths - Gethin = An imaginative 'confession' after learning about Jonah and the Whale. Year 3:
Rosie = Always kind and confident - Jordan Wa. = Fabulous sketches in Roman presentation. Year 4:
Iestyn = For settling in really well and working hard - Katrina = Creative ending to the Shaggy Giant story Year 5:
Charlotte = Excellent Shakespeare drama - Ashley = Excellent Shakespeare drama. Year 6:
Yelena = Settling in really well - Leah - Courage in the face of a fear (Geese!)
Nine pupils entered a competition with Miss Weisler to design a picture with an under the water theme. All nine pupils had their pieces of art published into a book which is currently on display in the school reception area. The nine pupils were Sophie O, Courtney, Shani, Jordan Wh, Emily S, Dylan, Jenna, Matthew Mc, and Sarah.
Today the whole school was visited by a Brass Band ensemble who treated us to renditions of well known tunes such as Superman, Star Wars and Wallace and Gromit. Some volunteers were also called upon to try and play some of the instruments.
Year 5&6 had a fantastic day as they were treated to a day long workshop using computers and motor controlled lego kits. They all had the chance to make moving monkeys, crocodiles and aeroplanes amongst other weird and wonderful objects.
Wednesday 12th May:
Year 5/6 pupils who are going on the trip to Statford tomorrow will need to be there by no later than 8:20am. We will be leaving at 8:30am. Pupils need to bring packed lunches in a plastic bag with names on it. No fizzy drinks are to be included in the packed lunch. We will be leaving Stratford at 3:00pm and expect to be back roughly at 5:00pm.
Monday 10th May:
We were visted today by the Rhondda Cynon Taff Recycling team. They reminded us about how important recycling is and showed examples of materials that can be made out of recycled products such as tarmac, hats, fleeces and newspapers. They even bought along their friend Rhys Cycle.
A new visitor has arrived in the vegetable - a 6 foot scarecrow who was made by Cheeky Monkey Club's Gardening Club. He has yet to be gien a name. Any ugestion could be put on or guestbook, or members can post their thoughts on the discussion page.
Tuesday 4th May:
On Thursday 27th May we will be holding our very first 'Sponsored Bounce'. We will be counting how many bounces can be completed on a space hopper in a 2 minute time slot. Any parents and carers who would like to recapture their youth are more than welcome to take part and can join us at 9:30am in the school hall. Anyone interested can get a sponsorship form from Mrs. Henderson or can download the following link.
We are raising money to increase the amount of activities on offer for our pupils on the playground at break times. All pupils will have access to any new resources purchased. At the moment, on our wish list are:
A. CCTV cameras
B. A pirate ship
C. A play lodge
D. A flicky trail or ...
E An activity frame
With your help and support we can improve our grounds and playtimes.
The appearance of CCTV cameras on the above wish list may seem a bit out of place. Unfortunately, we have to announce that for the second weekend in a row, our school has been the target of vandals. Last weekend (24th & 25th of April) vandals climbed over the fence of the year 5/6 patio area and overturned our canvas covered greenhouse, destroying the seedlings that our pupils had planted and emptying bins onto the school grounds. Vandals returned again this weekend (1st & 2nd May) and turned their efforts onto the Nursery & Reception playground. They upturned and threw plant pots over the soft playground, tried to overturn the children's bench and cut the heads off the tulips and daffodils that the nursery and reception children had planted. They then pulled up any other plants that they found in the pupils' grow boxes. They again returned to the tactic of emptying the bins onto the school grounds. The police were called to the school on Tuesday morning to assess the damage and look for any evidence or clues. If anyone has any information on this cruel act of vandalism, please contact the school.
Thursday 29th April:
Our plastic bottle greenhouse collection is going well. We have so far collected over 100 plastic bottles which have been collected and stacked on bamboo poles. We are now busily collecting 6ft bamboo poles to keep up with the bottles! If anyone was able to donate any 6ft bamboo polls they would be much aprciated. Thank you for your effort so far!
Wednesday 21st April:
Pupils intending on coming to gardening club on Thursday nights will need to bring some old clothes to change into. Guitar lessons will now take place on Thursday afternoons. We have started a monumental mission of collecting 1,500+ 2L plastic pop bottles for our planned plastic bottle greenhouse. Could the plastic bottles please be washed in soapy water before being sent in to school.
Tuesday 13th April:
Just a reminder that the new Cheeky Monkey club activities begin this week. See (Friday 19th March) for more information.
Monday 22nd March:
Children in Year 5 & 6 will need to bring old clothes to change into tomorrow as they will be planting their vegetables and plants.
Friday 19th March:
Having had an excellent response to the Cheeky Monkey Club proposed activities we can now confirm the schedule for Cheeky Monkey Club after school activities next term are:
Monday - Aerobics - 3.30-4.30pm
Tuesday - Board Games - 3.30-4.30pm
Thursday - Gardening - 3.30-4.30pm
Friday - Film Night - 3.30-5.00pm
All activities will include a drink and crisps and will start the first day back in school after the Easter Holidays (Tuesday 13th April). If you would like your child to attend the activities the cost is £3.00 per day. However, if you would like your child to remain until the end of the normal Cheeky Monkey Club, 5.25pm, then the cost will be £5.00.
Nursery children wishing to attend Club will be supervised from 3:15-3:30pm - Please see Kinga for details.
Thursday 11th March:
We have had some concerns expressed about a website called 'Vizwoz' that some of our pupils have been using. This is a site intended for children that allows them to go into various 'Worlds' and chat (i.e. a chatrooom). Firstly, this website can't be accessed from school as we have a protected intranet nanny which blocks websites which we do not want children to use (Both Mr. Phillips and Mr. Roberts have checked this). The website is perfectly fine to use as far as we are aware, however, as far as we can ascertain, there is no restriction as to who can access the site or join in the chatroom. Therefore we would urge parental caution if you are allowing your child to use it. It is also always best that children use the internet in a public area of the house, where usage can be monitored, rather than tucked away in their bedroom with a shut door.
The Easter Parade will be at 2:00pm on Thursday 25th March. Juniors are going to be making egg themed models whereas infants will be making bonnets and hats. Parents are welcome to attend.
Easter Holiday dates are as follows: Monday 29th March - Friday 9th April.
Monday 12th April will be an INSET Day.
No car is to park, or drop off on the yellow zigzags in front of the school gates. This causes a danger to the children and there have been a number of complaints from parents about a minority of drivers that do this. We have contacted the police about this matter and they have agreed to show a presence in the future.
Tuesday 9th March:
During the Summer Term we are hoping to start the following activities in Cheeky Monkeys Club:
Gardening
First Aid (10 Weeks)
Aerobics
Film Night (with free popcorn, drins and sweets.)
Children attending these activities between 3:30 and 4:30 will be charged £3.00. Those attending for the full Cheeky Monkeys session between 3:30-5:25 will be charged the normal fee of £5.00.
We would also like to start a German After School Club on Wednesdays for Year 5/6 only. This will be an introduction to the German Language in preparation for Comprehensive school. This will run for a period of six weeks between 3:30-4:30 and will cost £3.00 per session.
The funding for Cheeky Monkeys club is coming to an end. We currently do not hae enough children attending on a regular basis to make the club sustainable. We are introducing new activites starting after Easter to encourage more childen to attend. We would be grateful for some feed back on the new proposed activities to gauge pupil/parent interest. Please could you fill in the slip attached to the paper version of this letter which is went out at the end of the school day today.
Monday 3rd March:
Cheeky Monkeys Club have arranged an American Football Taster session next Friday 12th March with a qualified instructor. The session will run from straight after school to 5:25. Places are limited to 30 children and allocated on a first come first served basis. The cost will be £3. If your child is interested please reurn the slip brought home with your child today.
Monday 1st March:
We held our annual Eisteddfod this afternoon. Last week, our pupils completed art and handwriting activities which were judged by the teachers. This afternon our pupils joined up with their house colours and coompeted in activites such as country dancing, choir singing, duets and Welsh sketches. All results were taken in and the final standings saw Gwyrdd come in in third, Glas in second and Coch taking the victory in first place.
1st. Coch - 166
2nd. Glas - 154
3rd. Gwyrdd - 142.
Congratulations to Coch and all of our pupils.
The full results can be found on the following link:
Thursday 25th February:
The St. David's Day Disco due to be held tomorrow (Friday 26th February) has unfortunately had to be postponed to a later date.
Monday 22nd February:
Some dates for the diary:
Monday 22nd February will be an INSET Day Tuesday 23rd February: Full Governor Meeting at 4:00pm Monday 1st March: Eisteddfod
Parents Meetings are taking place on the week beginning Monday 1st March. Full days have been allocated between the hours of 9:15am - 3:30pm. No appointments are necessary, first come first served! Tuesday 2nd March - Nursery & Reception - Mrs. Padgett Wednesday 3rd March - Year 1/2 - Mrs. Killick Thursday 4th March - Year 3/4 - Mrs. Hobrow Friday 5th March - Year 5/6 - Mrs. Price
Thursday 25th March - Easter Parade 2pm (Parents Welcome)
Nursery & Reception - Easter Bonnet / Hat
Year 3, 4, 5, 6 - Egg Themed Model
Monday 29th March - Friday 9th April - Easter Holidays
Monday 12th April - INSET Day.
We are looking to set up an after school computer club after Easter. Further details to follow.
Just a reminder to all parents, please refrain from driving onto school premises even if the school gates are open. This is prohibited and is for the safety of all children.
Could parents please save any plastic punnet boxes for Year 5/6 as they make excellent seed trays.
Friday 29th January:
Year 5&6 were fortunate enough to have a visit from Braces Bread on Friday morning. They came to show us how bread is made and how it can help us with our healthy eating. One of our pupils had a chance to make bread using the ingredients that Braces Bread use in their bakery.
Friday 15th January:
School is open as usual on Friday 15th January. Take care on the approach to the school as it is still fairly icy.
Thursday 14th January:
School closed due to the weather, access conditions and staffing issues.
Wednesday 13th January:
School closed due to severe weather and staffing issues.
Tuesday 12th January:
Apologies for school closures lately. Obviously our first concern is the safety of pupils and staff in getting to school. The forecast is poor again for the forthcoming days so we will be utilising the text service, our school answer machine and this wiki to keep you informed. If you need to inform us of a new contact number then ring ring the school a.s.a.p.
Class topics for this term:
Nursery & Reception: Elmer the Elephant - Wild Animals
Year 1/2 - Round and Round, Toys, Time and Space.
Year 3/4 - Plants and Animals
Year 5/6 - World War Two
On Monday 18th January Year 5/6 will be going on a trip to Grangetown Temple. They will be accompanied by Mrs. Price and Mr. Roberts. We need to leave the school at 9:15 am. prompt so children will need to be in school for 9:00 am. We will be back in school for lunch at the normal time. There are a few rules we must adhere to whilst we are there.
1. There are no charges but donations are welcome.
2. No food / drink is allowed in the temple at all.
3. In the prayer hall boys and girls sit separately. They are allowed to mix afterwards.
4. Dress Code: Children must wear school uniform. Children must notnwear sleeveless tops or shirts. Children must not wear shorts. Girls must wear trousers and bring a head scarf. All children must remove their shoes before entering the prayer hall.
Monday 11th January:
School will be open as normal today, Monday 11th January.
Friday 8th January:
School is open Friday 9th January and the trip to the Pantomime is currently scheduled to go ahead. All children booked to go on the Pantomime trip will need to bring a packed lunch.
Thursday 7th January:
School closed due to snow and icy conditions.
Wednesday 6th January:
School closed due to snow.
Friday 1st January:
The Wiki statistics for December saw the Home page as the most commonly viewed page with 308 views. The second most viewed was the Pupil's Pages with 55 views. The third most viewed page was Our Staff with 49 views.
Monday 14th December:
Some information on what is happening this week. Tuesday 15th - Mother and Toddler Christmas Party PM Wednesday 16th - Children's Christmas Disco (During school hours). All children will leave school at 3:30pm as usual.
PTA will be providing a make up service and nail service for the girls at a cost of 50p each and also hair spraying (coloured) for the boys at 50p. Pre signed approval will be needed via the slip on the paper version of this newsletter. Thursday 17th - Children will be visiting the Church for a Christingle Service AM.
Christmas Dinner - if your child normally has sandwiches but would like Christmas Dinner, please could you let us know by Tuesday 15th. The price will be £1.70. Friday 18th - Special visitor at school - clue, he's round, with a beard and black boots...
Winter Term ends.
Spring Term will resume for children on Tuesday 5th January.
Friday 11th December:
Message from Mr. Phillips:
It is with mixed feelings that I write to tell you that from Easter I shall be leaving my post as Headteacher of Llanharan Primary School to take up a new role as Headteacher of Cwmlai Primary School. I have had a very happy 12 years as both Deputy and Headteacher of Llanharan Primary School. Working with and caring for your children has been an absolute privilege and I thank you for all your help and support over the years.
For your information, I am very pleased to tell you that from Easter to the end of the academic year (July 16th) the school will be in the very capable hands of Mrs. Price as Acting Headteacher.
The official appointment of a new Headteacher will take place during this time, to start in September 2010.
The arrangements for the teaching of the Year 5/6 class from Easter to July 16th will be announced in January.
Yours sincerely Mr TS Phillips Headteacher
Other News:
The raffle has been drawn independently by Year 5/6 pupils and the lucky winners of our fantastic hampers and Digital photo frames have been notified. Congratulations to all winners! A big thank you to everyone who donated items and purchased raffle tickets. The hamper idea this year has proved to be a great success.
Friday 4th December:
Next week is Christmas Concert week. There is a general rhearsal on Monday, Tuesday is Dress Rehearsal at 1:30pm. Performance information is as follows:
Day
Time
Who
Wednesday 9th
1:30pm
Junior Concert
Wednesday 9th
6:00pm
Infant Concert
Thursday 10th
1:30pm
Infant Concert
Thursday 10th
6:00pm
Junior Concert
There are still some tickets available.
For the evening concerts, please could children arrive from 5:30pm and STRICTLY NOT BEFORE. The building will be locked and no admittance granted before 5:30pm. (Audience will be admitted from 5:30pm also). Please collect Infant children after the evening concert at 6:30pm and Junior children after the evening concert at 6:45pm.
Thank you very much to those parents who have already donated items towards the hampers that are being raffled by the PTA at the concerts next week. Just a reminder to those parents who have not yet donated, items are to be in school by Monday 7th December please. Listed below are the to be donated for each class, however, we will be very grateful for any items.
Staff are also making contributions to the hampers.
Tuesday 1st December:
The Wiki statistics for December are in. As usual, Home page leads the way with 622 views. Pupil's Pages came second with 175 views and Fun Zone came third with 151 views.
Friday 20th November:
Today our children and staff came to school dressed in pyjamas, dressing gowns and slippers! Thanks to all of the donations we managed to raise a fantastic £111.21 for Children in Need.
Thursday 19th November:
Tomorrow is Children in Need day and we have asked our children to do something different by wearing their pyjamas! As a result of this, unfortunately we have had to cancel swimming for Year 1&2 on Friday this week.
Sunday 1st November:
The most commonly viewed page on our Wiki last month was the Home page with 135 views. The second most frequently visited page was Our Staff with 39 views followed by Pupil's Pages in third with 35 views.
Thursday 15th October:
We are in need of new members to join our PTA group. We have a stalwart of permanent members who work relentlessly to put together our discos, film nights and not to mention our amazing Summer Fete. We want these events to continue, as we don't want the children to miss out on the things they enjoy such as their presents off Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny etc... We are unable to run our Halloween Disco this year as we simply do not have enough PTA members in order to do so. If you could help in some way and would like to become a member of the PTA we are arranging a meeting to discuss future events on Wednesday 4th November at 3:30pm in the hall. New and previous members please come along, we would be very happy to see you!
Mrs. Killick's and Mrs. Hobrow's classes will be going on a trip to Llancaiach Fawr on Tuesday 20th October. Children need to arrive in school at 9:00am for registration as we need to leave promptly. Pupils are required to bring a packed lunch for the trip.
We have some spaces open for guitar lessons on Friday afternoon. These will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. If your child is interested please complete and return the form attached to the paper version of this letter which pupils took home today. Pupils are required to have their own guitar to participate.
Do you have any unwanted K-Nex modelling equipment that is no longer needed at home? If so we could put it to good use. We would like to use K-Nex forscience/ICT projects this year and we are looking for donations. If you could help we would be very grateful.
Please could parents ensure that they make it clear to their children if they are going to be attending after school clubs. We have had a number of instances recently where children do not know it they should attend or not, which results in phone calls having to be made and a lot of confusion.
Children's last day in school is Friday 23rd October and children return to school on Monday 2nd November.
We have been assured by Colorfoto that the individual photographs that were taken recently will be in school by Friday 23rd October.
Saturday 3rd October:
The Wiki stats for October had the Home page as the most commonly visited page with 162 views, Year 5&6 second with 49 views and Pupil's Pages third with 38 views.
Friday 2nd October:
We are hoping to take Mrs. Killick's and Mrs. Hobrow's class to Llancaiach Fawr Manor house as part of their history studies. The day includes a tour of the house plus a school activity. We are planning to have the trip on Tuesday 20th October leaving school at 9:15 am and leaving Llancaiach Fawr at 1:30 pm. The cost will be £8.00 per child (£5.00 & £3.00 for transport). A packed lunch will be required. Please do not include fizzy drinks and ensure that the lunch is placed in a bag clearly labelled with your child's name. Please fill in and return the attached slip with the paper form of this letter as soon as possible.
Wednesday 30th September:
The sponsored Cardiff City penalty shoot-out will take place tomorrow (Thursday 1st October). Could you please send you child to school on the day with their sponsor forms to ensure that they can participate. The forms will then be verified with the amount of penalties scored. Many thanks for all of your support in this fund raising event.
Just a reminder that the Nursery / Reception trip to the New Theatre on Friday 2nd October. Children are expected to come to school with a packed lunch and please ensure that they are in school by 9:15am as we need to leave promptly after registration.
Individual school photographs will be taken in school on Wednesday 7th October. Any family photographs with pre-school siblings will be taken in the hall starting at 8:45am. The rest of the photographs will be taken throughout the morning. Please ensure that photo request form, attached to the paper version of this niewsletter which was sent home is completed and returned to school as soon as possible.
Friday 18th September:
The votes have been counted and the new members of this year's school council have been announced. Our representitives for this year are as follows:
Nursery & Reception: Eliza, Thomas H, Cassie and Joshua
Year 1: Natasha and Ellis
Year 2: Sophie and Edward
Year 3: Jordan Wa. and Chloe
Year 4: Lauren and Shane
Year 5: Charlotte and Ashley
Year 6: Megan, Chelsea, Corey and Matthew
Congratulations to all who participated in the elections and those who were nominated onto the school council.
Friday 11th September:
E3 after school clubs start week commencing Monday 14th. The club and times are the same as mentioned in the news item dated Monday 7th September.
Paid after school care club to begin on Monday 21st September. To be held in Mrs. Price's classroom. There wil be 2 qualified staff supervising the children and usual behaviour rules apply. The times are 3:30 - 5:25 pm every evening and the cost is £5.00 per evening and this must be paid in advance on a Monday for however many sessions required that week. E.g. if you wanted Monday, Tuesday and Friday it would be £15.00 payable on the Monday. There is a children's competition to name this after school care club. There is a prize available for the winners and entries are to be received by Wednesday 16th September.
Swimming starts back on the week commencing Monday 14th September.
Year 5/6 will be leaving school straight away at 9:15 am. Please could Year 5/6 pupils arrive in school for 9:10 am for early registration and departure. Children get 1 hour in the pool which lasts jut for this term.
Year 2/3 will be swimming Friday 9:15 am please could you ensure children arrive promptly at 9:15 am for registration.
October 1st we are holding a charity penalty shoot out in conjunction with Cardiff City Football Club. Sponsor forms will be dispatched next week.
There are parent meetings taking place which is a chance to learn about topics which your child will be studying for the forthcoming year. The date for these meetings is Monday 21st September and the times are:
Nursery / Reception - 2:00pm
KS1 - Mrs. Killick - 3:30 pm in Mrs. Killick's room.
KS2 - Mrs. Price - 3:30 pm in Mrs. Price's room
The Observer are in school on September 22nd to take a photograph of our children. Can children please wear their school uniforms. If you have any objections to your child having their photograph please contact the school ASAP.
Breakfast Club is available from 8:00 am as normal. If children are not attending breakfast club they should not arrive on school grounds until 9:00 am.
This year every letter that is sent home will be accompanied by a text message to inform you that a letter is on its way. If letters have not been sent home then you can receive a copy from Mrs. Henderson. The letter will also be put up here on the news section of this Wiki.
Just a reminder that Year 1/2 children should be dropped off at the red line (generally where Mr. Phillips's car is parked outside reception) in the mornings. Staff members will be there to receive the children on the infant yard at 9:00 am.
Fruit tuck. Strawberries are now no longer available. Please send money in with your children for one day only in a marked envelope.
Tuesday 8th September:
A link has been posted on the left sidebar of this wiki which directs towards the guestbook that is located on our old school website. This has been done to allow all visitors to this wiki to contribute messages as the discussion page is only for those who have usernames and passwords to this wiki.
Monday 7th September:
A big welcome back to all of the pupils at Llanharan Primary School for the start of another new school year. A reminder that there has been a slight change to the school day. All pupils still start at 9:15 am. Nursery finish at 3:15 pm while all other pupils, including Juniors now finish at 3:30 pm.
School meals: Catering Direct have now increased their prices to £1.70 per day / £8.50 per week.
Fruit Tuck: Year 1-6 - Fresh fruit packs are available every morning at a cost of 50p for strawberries or 30p for the other fruit packs. Please send fruit tuck money in an envelope with your child's name clearly marked on it. Loose money can be easily lost/misplaced particularly by the younger children. Nursery & Reception make their own arrangements for fruit/toast etc... so please see Mrs. Padgett and Mrs. Hopkins for details.
E3 After School Clubs:
Tuesday - Dragon Sports 3:30 - 5:15pm (ages 7-11)
Wednesday - Acticity Club 3:30 - 5:00pm (GES 3-11)
PE Days:
Nursery & Reception - Mrs. Padgett - Friday
Year 1/2 - Mrs. Killick - Monday
Year 3/4 - Mrs. Hobrow - Thursday
Year 5/6 - Mrs. Price - Thursday
PE Kits consisting of shorts, T-shirts and trainers are to be brought to school on these days.
Violin lessons - Mrs. Turner's lessons will take place on a Tueday Morning
Guitar Lessons - With Mr. Roberts (day to be confirmed)
Swimming for Year 2/3 and 5/6 will be confirmed at a later date as we have not yet had the timetable from RCT.
Tuesday 1st September:
It was nice to see that the Wiki was still being viewed and used during the Summer Holidays. The most commonly viewed page again was the Home page with 55 views. The second most popular page was the Pupil's Pages and third was the Year 1/2 page.
Saturday 1st August:
The Wiki statistics for July show that the most commonly visited page was Home with 672 views. The second most commonly viewed page was Fun Zone with 135 while third was Pupil's Pages with 104 views.
Tuesday 14th July:
Unfortunately, due to the poor weather we have been experiencing, we have had to postpone the sports day which was scheduled for tomorrow as the field is far too wet. We will try to rearrange the event in the Autumn Term.
The new term will start for our pupils on Monday 7th September (staff have three INSET days on 2nd, 3rd and 4th.)
After parent consultations, the alteration of the timing of the school day has been modified with the new times as follows:
Nursery: Start 9:15 am - Finish 3:15 pm Reception, Year 1, Year 2: Start 9:15 am - Finish 3:30 pm Year 3, 4, 5, 6: Start 9:15 am - Finish 3:30 pm
All classes will be chaperoned to the gate, nursery children will remain to be collected from the Nursery yard as they are now. We are looking into the idea of a 'walking bus' each morning and home time. This relies on parent volunteers. Further details to be given early in September.
We have made progress in setting up an after school care club. We are awaiting confirmation from the county, but it looks like we will be able to start this club from Monday 14th September. Further details will be given during the week of Monday 7th - Friday 11th September.
Monday 13th July:
Year 3/4/5 harvested their crop of onions and potatoes today. They were impressed with the amount of each crop that had grown and decided that if they plant them earlier next year they can grow a lot more. A by-product of the harvest meant that their classroom had a delicious onion scent all day. Year 1/2 also picked their potatoes from their grow bags this morning and had a bumper crop!
Year 3/4/5 onions and potatoes
Friday 3rd July:
Sports day was postponed today and is re-scheduled for Wednesday 15th July at 1:30pm. The difficult decision to postpone was taken after an inspection of the field this morning. It was found to be sodden due to the heavy rain that fell overnight and due to concerns about health and safety risks the decision was made to re-schedule.
Reporting to parents will take place on the following dates:
Monday 6th July - Nursery & Reception - Mrs. Padgett - 9:15-12:15 & 1:15 - 3:30pm
Tuesday 7th July - Year 1/2 - Mrs. Killick - 9:15-12:15 & 1:15-3:30pm
Thursday 9th July - Year 5/6 - Mrs. Price - 9:15-12:15 & 1:15-3:30pm
Friday 10th July - Year 3/4/5 - Mrs. Hobrow - 9:15-12:15 & 1:15-3:30pm
Thursday 2nd July:
Our vegetable patch now has two scarecrows defending our crops. Nursery & Reception made the male scarecrow while Year 1/2 made the female.
Wednesday 1st July:
The end of another month and time for more monthly Wiki stats! The most commonly visited page was our 'Home' page with 1670 views. The second most popular page was 'Year 5/6' with 338 views and third was our 'Vote for our new Wiki Logo' with 304 views.
Tuesday 30th June:
The Juniors went on their end of year trip to Legoland Windsor. Click the following link for a full reoprt.
Tuesday 16th June:
Unfortunately we have had to cancel the assembly we were going to hold on Friday afternoon to showcase some of the work we have been doing during Literacy Week as the hall will be needed in preparation for the fete.
Rob Lewis, the fantastic children's author who visited our school yesterday left a message on our main website which we shall repeat on here.
"Your wiki is brilliant. I had a lovely time at your school yesterday. It was great that the sun shone all day and we were able to work outside. Apparently, in Mid Wales it rained!! The photos look really great. I hope the rest of your literacy week goes well, and the weather is good for your school fete. Best wishes to you all! Rob."
Monday 15th June:
Mr. Phillips Science Challenge - Each team will design and build a bridge to span a 60cm 'river'. The bridge must stand either side of the 'river', and have no legs in the 'river' itself. The bridge must be free standing, and be able to hold the 'Troll' (represented by a weight). Each team must have one adult member. The children have chosen teams today, so we will be on the look out for adult helpers. Equipment provided will be a newspaper and a roll of sellotape. Rulers, scissors and pencils will be available for construction, but must not be part of the bridge itself. Teams will gather in the hall at 10:15 am on Friday. Construction commences at 10:30 am. Each bridge will be tested from 11:30 am.
Sunday 14th June:
A Literacy Week page has been added to the side navigation bar (Just under 'Our News') for the period of our special week and will remain for a further week afterwards. The link will then be removed but will remain on the site via a link in the 'Our News' section.
Tuesday 9th June:
As part of our literacy week (Monday 15th-Friday 19th June) we have some great activities planned for our pupils. We have lots of information about the event here. Our Closing Assembly will be on the Friday 19th at 2:30pm and parents are welcome to attend. On Wednesday 17th, we will be holding a Mad Hatters Tea Party (hopefully outdoors). The idea is that all pupils will wear a hat on the day. This could be a made hat, a hat you already own, or maybe you could re-use/re-decorate your Easter hat. The best hat in each class will win a prize. School will supply cakes, biscuits and drinks for the tea party.
The fancy dress company have agreed to come into school to show us some sample costumes ready for our fete on Saturday 20th. Children's outfits start from £5.00 and Adults from £12.00. Accessories such as hats are also available to purchase. They will be in school on Wednesday 10th June between 12 noon and 3pm. Please feel free to come along and see what is on offer.
Thursday 4th June:
Our vegetable patches are really starting to grow thanks to the fantastic weather and the regular daily watering they have received from our pupils. We are hoping to grow potatoes, runner beans, dwarf beans, onions, radishes, pumpkins, cabbges and carrots.
Year 1/2 Potatoes
Year 3/4/5 Patch
Year 5/6 Patch
Nursery & Reception Patch
Our Vegetable Patch
We are also busy working at building up our compost heap to produce natural compost to aid the growth of our vegetable patches. The pupils have been collecting the grass after it has been cut and putting it in our compost holder. Fruit and vegetable waste is alos put in the compost holder daily by our pupils and staff.
Wednesday 3rd June:
There will be no swimming for Years 2&3 this Friday (05/06/09). Friday 5th June will be a Non-Uniform Day. We are asking for donations of a tin/bottle to go for the School Fete on Saturday 20th June. Friday 12th June will also be a Non-Uniform Day. We are asking for a donation of pre-prepared cakes (shop bought) to also go towards the School Fete. We feel that Birthday cakes for the Junior children are inappropriate, if you really would like to mark the occasion in school then could parents please provide small individual cakes (i.e. fairy cakes) or small chocolate bars which can be distributed easily at the end of the day.
Monday 1st June:
After our first full month of our Wiki being live, we can see which pages have been the most frequently visited throughout the month of May. The most visited page was the 'Home' page with 189 views, followed by 'Our Staff' with 115. The most commonly visited class page was 'Year 5/6' with 100 views. Which member of staff had the most page views last month? That title went to 'Mr. Phillips' with 19 views.
Friday 22nd May:
The junior pupils have been busy using their ICT design skills to come up with designs for a new logo for our Wiki. A shortlist of four was drawn up after a vote amongst the members of staff and a vote was created on the wiki (which can be accessed from the Home page). The voting will continue until Thursday June 11th. Get voting now!!!
Friday 27th February:
Today we held our St. David's Day celebrations. Our pupils have been working all week on competitions composing of elements including art, handwriting and designing a paper plate in a Welsh theme. Our mini-Eisteddfod will see the pupils compete in their house colours in country dancing and singing. The results for the competitions were:
Competitions
1st
2nd
3rd
Joint 3rd
Pre-Nursery Art
Farrah Green (Red)
Eliza Bayliss (Blue)
Melissa Morgan (Blue)
Joseph Parry (Blue)
Pre-Nursery Handwriting
Eliza Bayliss (Blue)
Farrah Green (Red)
Melissa Morgan (Blue)
N/A
Nursery Art
Sam Misfud (Red)
Ellie-May Jones (Red)
Talia Howells (Blue)
N/A
Nursery Handwriting
Freya Harris (Red)
Tilly Russel (Blue)
Thomas Stroud (Green)
N/A
Reception Art
Maddie Jones (Red)
Jade Shears (Red)
Karina Roberts (Green)
Ellis Stroud (Blue)
Reception Handwriting
Aiden Lock (Blue)
Malea Stroud (Blue)
Gracie Green (Red)
N/A
Year 1 Art
Jared Williams (Red)
Kiera Ellis (Green)
Cerys McKechnie (Blue)
N/A
Year 1 Collage
Kiera Ellis (Green)
TJ Ayoub (Green)
Onyx Thorne (Green)
N/A
Year 1 Handwriting
Chelsey Milward-Jones (Blue)
TJ Ayoub (Green)
Sophie Bowden (Green)
N/A
Year 2 Art
Shani Williams (Blue)
Jack Batacan (Green)
Chloe Coleman (Red)
N/A
Year 2 Collage
Shani Williams (Blue)
Rosie Evans (Green)
Chloe Coleman (Red)
N/A
Year 2 Handwriting
Shani Williams (Blue)
Chloe Coleman (Red)
Rosie Evans (Green)
N/A
Year 3 Art
Shauna Garvie (Red)
Emily Stroud (Green)
N/A
Year 3 Handwriting
Courtney O'Neill (Blue)
Sophy O'Neill (Blue)
Emily Stroud (Green)
Lauren Roberts (Blue)
Year 4 Art
Daniel Webb (Green)
Charlotte Lewis (Blue)
Cai Wall (Red)
Ebony Green (Green)
Year 4 Handwriting
Charlotte Lewis (Blue)
Tia Waters (Red)
Daniel Webb (Green)
N/A
Year 5 Art
Alana Rossiter (Green)
Lucy Anthony (Green)
Sarah Grant (Red)
N/A
Year 5 Hanwriting
Katy Williams (Green)
Megan Batacan (Green)
Callum Bowden (Green)
N/A
Year 5 Watercolour
Leah Butler (Red)
Katy Williams (Green)
Megan Batacan (Green)
N/A
Year 6 Art
Jamie White (Blue)
Joshua Edmunds (Green)
Sophie Dacey (Blue)
N/A
Year 6 Handwriting
Courteney Jordan (Red)
Sophie Dacey (Blue)
Bethan Warman (Blue)
N/A
Year 6 Watercolour
Thomas Llewelyn (Red)
Eden Brown (Blue)
Geraint Brain (Blue)
N/A
Junior Solo Singing
Megan Batacan (Green)
Sarah Grant (Red)
Kirsty Jones (Red)
N/A
Juunior Poetry
Jessica Thomas (Green)
Joshua Jones (Red)
Sophie Dacey (Blue)
N/A
Junior Choir
Red
Green
Blue
N/A
Junior Dance
Green
Blue
Red
N/A
Team
Points
Third Place
Red
156
Second Place
Green
170
First Place
Blue
182
Tuesday 10th February:
Today we were visited by a string quartet.There were five musicians in total all playing a variety of instruments such as violins, cello and piano. They played various familiar tunes such as the theme tunes to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, A whole New World and a variety of nursery rhymes. At some points during the performance, volunteers were invited to play some of the instruments, including Mr. Phillips. We learned about the different ways in which we could play the instruments and some of the musical techniques that can be used. A volunteer was asked to come out in front of everyone to conduct the mini orchestra. The performance was enjoyed so much that an encore was requested! To satisfy the desire to hear more the group finished with a rendition of the theme tune from Match of the Day.
The violinists play
Mr. Phillips gives it a go!
Our pupils conductor
What did you think of the performance? Discuss it in our discussion page (school members only).
Monday 6th September:SCHOOL CLOSED WEDNESDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER Due to major water works being undertaken on this day, Llanharan Primary School has to close for the day. We have contacted the water board to try to minimise the disruption to our school day, but have been informed that major works will be ongoing throughout the day. We will have no water for toilets, hand washing, cooking lunch etc... and we have no other option but to close the school on health and safety grounds.[]Over the school holidays new security doors and codes were fitted to four of our exterior doors, Mrs. Hobrow's class has been painted and all of the wood has had a fresh coat of gloss. Also, new book shelves, cupboards and some fantastic resources were delivered and are now in place for the start of the new term. Fruit tuck is on sale for pupils from Years 1-6 in our morning break snack shop at a cost of 30p per day. There is always a wide variety of fruit on sale and pupils choose their favourites. Children may bring their tuck money every day in a marked envelope. []We are delighted to welcome the RCT Langauge and Play team to Llanharan Primary School for a series of short, informal and fun programmes for parents, grandparents and carers anf their children of 0-3 years of age. This free programme aims to share ideas and activities, have a tea or coffee, chance to meet others and ask the team any questions about your child's language development.[]If your child is interested in guitar lessons or continuing guitar lessons please contact the school as there are only 6 spaces available. You child will need access to their own acoustic guitar and will need to be dedicated. As numbers are restricted, if pupils forget their guitar on three consecutive occasions, their place will be removed and allocated to another pupil. Dates for the Diary:Tuesday 14th September - Dogs Trust visit the school and run workshops for all pupilsTuesday 21st September - Year 5/6 trip to Big Pit and the Iron Works (details to follow)Tuesday 21st September - Language and Play programme for parents and babies starting from 9:30am-11:30am.Wednesday 6th October - Individual School PhotosMonday 18th October - Leon Charles (rap artist) visits school and runs 'rap workshops'.Friday 5th November - School Diwali celebrationsMonday 8th November - Nursery & Reception parents meetings - 1:15pm - 3:30pmTuesday 9th November - Year 1&2 parents meetings - 1:15pm - 3:30pmWednesday 10th November - Year 3&4 parents evening - 1:15pm - 3:30pmThursday 11th November - Year 4/5/6 parents evening - 1:15pm - 3:30pmMonday 6th December - Christmas Concert dress rehearsal at 1:30pm (free ticket, mince pie and tea/coffee for OAPs)Tueday 7th December - Christmas Concert (Juniors - 2:00pm - Infants - 5:30pm)Wednesday 8th December - Christmas Concert (Infants - 2:00pm - Junior - 5:30pm)Monday 13th December - Nursery & Reception trip to Grand Pavillion, Porth Cawl to see Jack and the Beanstalk. Monday 13th December - Years 1-6 trip to New Theatre Cardiff to see Cinderella.[]Friday 16th July:
As you know, today is te last day of the school year. Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd September will be INSET Days and pupils will start back on Monday 6th September. Have a good Summer!
Wednesday 14th July:
Today the Year 6 children had their World Premier of their Leaver's Film, 'Macbeth'. The half an hour film was premiered in their carpet area with an audience of parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. The film, which the children have been working on for some time contains five sections, two acting scenes, one puppet theatre scene, one shadow puppet scene and a stop-frame animation scene. The film even contains a Blooper reel, but only a short one, if we included all bloopers then we would have a film to rival the Lord of the Rings Trilogy in length! The film premiere was followed by our Owlies with all pupils getting an award to represent their achievements this year. The final part of the afternoon was the presentation of the Luke O'Brien Memorial Shield, presented for outstanding achievement in literacy, which went to Lucy Anthony. The full Owlies can be found on the following PowerPoint slide show.
Tuesday 7th July:
Today some of our junior children went to St. David's Hall to watch a performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. They were treated to performances of the theme tunes to Dr. Who and Star Wars. One of our pupils, Jordan from Year 3, was chosen to go on stage and join six other school children in playing horns at a certain point during a song. They also saw a suprise performance from the BBC's 'Over the Rainbow' runner up Sophie Evans who sang 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. The conductor taught the audience of school children about the different parts of the orchestra.
Monday 6th July:
Our Year 6 pupils have been working with PC Daniels and PC John over the past few weeks on their SAFE Project. They have been learning about various things such as the effects of drugs, smoking and alcohol on people's bodies and the damage that anti social behaviour can do. Today PC Daniels came to present the Year 6 pupils with their certificates and T-shirts. Pupils were also awarded tokens during and at the end of every session based on their attitude, effort and behaviour. The pupil with the most overall tokens at the end of the project was awarded with a special prize. Our winner of this award was Alana.
Sunday 27th June:
We entered a team into the Brynna Primary School Fete 7 a-side football tournament. We started off slowly losing 6-0, but then managed to get on the score sheet in the next game, still suffering a 5-1 defeat. These results put us into the Plate final where we won 2-0, bringing home a shield for the school. Congratulations to the 8 Year 5/6 pupils involved and many thanks to the parents for taking their children to the tournament. A special thanks goes to Mrs. Williams for accompanying the pupils on the day.
Many thanks to Mrs. Carmody for this fantastic team photograph.
Friday 25th June:
This following Monday (28/06/10) will be a non uniform day with a difference. To celebrate the launch of our 'Celebration Week', we are asking pupils to wear Welsh rugby or football tops or red or green clothes. We will not be collecting any money but will instead be asking for a donaton of pre-packed cakes, bottles or tins (please check the expiry dates.
Also Monday is the closing date for our photography competiton. Entries will be judged by BAFTA winning photographer Mr. Paul Cabuts on Thursday 1st July. The overall prize is a Kodak Easy Share C182 digital camera which has been kindly donated by Mrs. Anthony and Talk Training. Many thanks for this donation. More information can be found on our Celebration of Wales Week page HERE.
Thursday 24th June:
Barnaby Bear's adventure in to the media world has continued with the story of his journeys in Afghanistan being picked up by the official Barnaby Bear website run by the Geographical Association. For more on this story clickHERE
Wednesday 23rd June:
Our Barnaby Bear has made the newspapers and appears in today's Ponypridd & Llantrisant Observer and the South Wales Echo. Click HEREto read the story that appears in the South Wales Echo.
Wednesday 16th June:
This year Llanharan Primary School will be celebrating the heritage, customs and traditions of our very own multi-cultural nation, Wales. We have planned an all action week with a story teller Leon Charles, Welsh author Phil Caradice, a Welsh treasure hunt, cookery workshops worm charming event and photography competition. This exciting week will end with our Fun Day at the Welfare Field on Saturday 3rd July. Our annual parade will be based on a Celebration of Wales and the class themes are as follows:
Nursery & Reception: Famous Welsh Pirates
Year 1&2: Sheep and Shepherds, or costumes of green, red and white.
Year 3&4: Famous Welsh celebrities or traditional Welsh costumes
Year 5&6: Welsh miners.
Parents are also welcome to dress up as famous Welsh celebrities (Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Gavin/Stacey/Nessa, rugby starts, Catherine Zeta Jones, Derek the Weatherman etc...) and a cash prize of £50 will be given to the best dressed. We are hoping to have David Roberts CBE as our guest and he will be helping to judge the parents/community fancy dress competition.
Parents are also welcome to join us for our first Worm Charming Event on Thursday 1st July at 2:00pm. This will be our fun way of ending our Environment Wales day. We will be adhering to the very strict World Worm Charming Rules as much as we possibly can, and copies can be found hereand can be obtained from the office. Teams are to be made of 3 adults/children and plase could you inform Mrs. Price by Monday 28th June if you would like to enter.
During our celebration week we will be holding a photography competition with the title 'An image of Wales'. Pupils can enter a photograph in colour, black and white and there will be a class prize and an overall prize of a digital camera. Photographs can be of Llanharan or any place in Wales but must be taken by the children. The winners will be chosen by BAFTA award winning photographer Paul Cabuts on Tursday 1st July. All entries are to be in by Monday 28th June. The photographs will be displayed in the hall on Thursday 1st July and you are very welcome to come and view all entries.
Finally many apologies to Dr. Hibbitts-White and other involved parents for not giving her the credit for her input towards the winning application for improving our school grounds as mentioned in a previous newsletter.
Tuesday 15th June:
Friday 18th June will be a non-uniform day. Donations are tins and bottles for the fete. Also there will be a PTA meeting to discuss the fete on Friday 18yh June at 9:15am.
We would like to thank everyone who donated money for our sponsored bounce. With your help we managed to raise £465.60!
Thursday 10th June:
We will be breaking up for our Summer holidays on Friday 16th July and the children will return to school on Monday 6th September as we have two INSET days on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd September.
We would like to thank all the staff for organising an excellent sports day on the Friday before half term. For the first time in years the sun shone and we actually had our event on the day we planned! Also, thank you to David Roberts CBE for taking a break from his busy swimming schedule to present medals. Congratulations to the medal winners, the Green team and everyone who took part.
We would also like to thank everyone for their support in the sponsored bounce and if you have any outstanding sponsor money could you please send it into school as soon as possible. We will announce our grand total as soon as all money has been collected.
Once again this coming term is going to be an exciting and busy one. Here are some dates for your diary:
Thursday 24th June - WWII Workshop with Year 5/6
Friday 25th June - Romans in Wales workshop with Year 3/4
Monday 28th-Friday 2nd July - A Celebration of Wales - A week of fantastic activities.
Saturday 3rd July - School Fun Day (parade leaving the school at 11:30am. Fete on Welfare field until 4:00pm.)
Tuesday 6th July - BBC Orchestra Concert at St. David's Hall, Cardiff for all juniors (details to follow).
Friday 9th July - Infant Disco, Junior Disco and Leavers Event
Tuesday 13th July - West Midlands Safari Park trip (details to follow).
Wednesday 14th July - Year 6 Leavers Assembly
Friday 16th July - Last day of term / Toy/Game day
During our Celebration of Wales week we will be holding a photography competition with the title 'An Image of Wales'. Pupils can enter a photograph in colour or black and white, and there will be a class prize and an overall prize of a digital camera. Photographs can be of Llanharan or any place in Wales but must be taken by the children. The winners will be chosen by BAFTA award winning photographer Paul Cabuts on Thursday 1st July. All entries to be in by Monday 28th June.
We have been notified that the ASDA initiative 'A Sporting Chance' is being run again this summer holiday. Sporting Chance can help children to make the most of the summer by offering them an exciting range of free activities. If you would like a voucher please contact Mrs. Henderson.
I'd also like to thank Mrs Harries (Molly and Freya's mum) for entering an environmental 'Go Green Schools Competition' on behalf of the school. As a result of her letter of application we have been awarded the first prize of £500. We will now be able to create our very own allotment and pond areas.
We have collected 15,400 TESCO vouchers, thank you for all of your donations. The last day to receive any remaining vouchers will be Friday 11th June, as our order for the equipment is being placed that day.
If you would like to order any of the class photographs, Year 6 Leaver's pack or Nursery Starter pack then please return your order to school by Friday 11th June in order to guarantee delivery prior to the end of term.
Friday 28th May:
This afternoon we held our sports day, our first for three years due to the bad weather we have experienced in the previous years. We brought out event forward a couple of months this year to take advantage of what has in recent years been a more guarenteed spell of good weather. The weather played its part well with sunshine and temperature that was not too hot and not too cold.
We saw a number of fantastic events during the afternoon with close finished in the sprints, obstacle races, relays and marathons. There was also close competition in the javelin and the team tug of war event.
11 times Paralympic Gold Medal winning swimmer David Roberts CBE (Mr. Roberts' brother) was on hand to present medals to the winners throughout the afternoon.
The final team standings saw Blues come in third with 282 points. Second place was Reds with 338 and the overall winners with 386 points were Green.
The full results can be found on the following link:
Congratulations to everyone who took place.
Tuesday 25th May:
Cheeky Monkey Club is running a Whitsun Picnic on Thursday 27th May from 3:30-5:25pm. There will be a special offer price of £3.00. Bring a small blanket so you can sit on it during the picnic. There will be food and drink, fun and games and music.
Cheeky Monkey Club is also organising a bric-a-brac stall for our fete on 3rd July. We would like to ask parents if they could donate books, CDs, DVDs, Toys (good condition), Board Games (complete), handbags and Costume Jewellery. We are grateful for any donations, however, we would prefer not to receive any of the following items, clothes, electrical goods or extra large items. Thank you very much for your support.
Friday 21st May:
Pupils of the Week.
Nursery:
Jasmine = Settling in well - Luke = Excellent manners and behaviour
Reception:
Eleanor = Excellent listening skills - Sam = Excellent art work
Year 1:
Jade = Excellent investigative skills in science - Maddie = Writing her name and address beautifuly
Year 2:
Onyx = Excellent investigative skills in science - Joshua = Excellent general knowledge
Year 3:
Jack = Youngest rugby player in the tournament - Rosie = Improvement in POPAT and spelling
Year 4:
Matthew = POPAT spelling test - David = Good communication in group work
Year 5:
Charlotte & Tia = Good parachute science investigation
Year 6:
Callum = Excellent scientific enquiry - Sarah & Matthew - Book Review competition winners
Special award = Freya = For helping Mr. Llewelyn with his planting
Tuesday 18th May:
We have recently joined the Healthy Schools Initiative and are currently working towards our first Green Leaf award. As part of this initiative we are setting up our "Fruit for a Water Bottle" scheme. We have ordered water bottles to cover every pupil in the school. To qualify for a free water bottle, children have to:
If pupils bring a piece of fruit for morning and afternoon break their free water bottle can be claimed within 2 weeks. The water bottles will be named and used playtimes and lesson times to keep pupils hydrated during the Summer months. We now have a cool water dispenser in the lobby and pupils will be able to refil their bottles at break times. Bottles can be taken home at weekends to be cleaned but must be returned on Monday mornings. Replacement caps will be able to be purchased from the office.
Friday 14th May:
Pupil of the Week
Nursery & Reception:
Eliza = Good money activities - Samay = Working much better theis week.
Reception:
Keegan = Working well all week! - Cameron = Finding out about frogs
Year 1:
Natasha = Outstanding Maths work - Molly = Always working hard and always with a smile.
Year 2:
Sophie = Excellent mental maths - Gethin = An imaginative 'confession' after learning about Jonah and the Whale.
Year 3:
Rosie = Always kind and confident - Jordan Wa. = Fabulous sketches in Roman presentation.
Year 4:
Iestyn = For settling in really well and working hard - Katrina = Creative ending to the Shaggy Giant story
Year 5:
Charlotte = Excellent Shakespeare drama - Ashley = Excellent Shakespeare drama.
Year 6:
Yelena = Settling in really well - Leah - Courage in the face of a fear (Geese!)
Nine pupils entered a competition with Miss Weisler to design a picture with an under the water theme. All nine pupils had their pieces of art published into a book which is currently on display in the school reception area. The nine pupils were Sophie O, Courtney, Shani, Jordan Wh, Emily S, Dylan, Jenna, Matthew Mc, and Sarah.
Today the whole school was visited by a Brass Band ensemble who treated us to renditions of well known tunes such as Superman, Star Wars and Wallace and Gromit. Some volunteers were also called upon to try and play some of the instruments.
Year 5&6 had a fantastic day as they were treated to a day long workshop using computers and motor controlled lego kits. They all had the chance to make moving monkeys, crocodiles and aeroplanes amongst other weird and wonderful objects.
Wednesday 12th May:
Year 5/6 pupils who are going on the trip to Statford tomorrow will need to be there by no later than 8:20am. We will be leaving at 8:30am. Pupils need to bring packed lunches in a plastic bag with names on it. No fizzy drinks are to be included in the packed lunch. We will be leaving Stratford at 3:00pm and expect to be back roughly at 5:00pm.
Monday 10th May:
We were visted today by the Rhondda Cynon Taff Recycling team. They reminded us about how important recycling is and showed examples of materials that can be made out of recycled products such as tarmac, hats, fleeces and newspapers. They even bought along their friend Rhys Cycle.
Tuesday 4th May:
On Thursday 27th May we will be holding our very first 'Sponsored Bounce'. We will be counting how many bounces can be completed on a space hopper in a 2 minute time slot. Any parents and carers who would like to recapture their youth are more than welcome to take part and can join us at 9:30am in the school hall. Anyone interested can get a sponsorship form from Mrs. Henderson or can download the following link.
We are raising money to increase the amount of activities on offer for our pupils on the playground at break times. All pupils will have access to any new resources purchased. At the moment, on our wish list are:
A. CCTV cameras
B. A pirate ship
C. A play lodge
D. A flicky trail or ...
E An activity frame
With your help and support we can improve our grounds and playtimes.
The appearance of CCTV cameras on the above wish list may seem a bit out of place. Unfortunately, we have to announce that for the second weekend in a row, our school has been the target of vandals. Last weekend (24th & 25th of April) vandals climbed over the fence of the year 5/6 patio area and overturned our canvas covered greenhouse, destroying the seedlings that our pupils had planted and emptying bins onto the school grounds. Vandals returned again this weekend (1st & 2nd May) and turned their efforts onto the Nursery & Reception playground. They upturned and threw plant pots over the soft playground, tried to overturn the children's bench and cut the heads off the tulips and daffodils that the nursery and reception children had planted. They then pulled up any other plants that they found in the pupils' grow boxes. They again returned to the tactic of emptying the bins onto the school grounds. The police were called to the school on Tuesday morning to assess the damage and look for any evidence or clues. If anyone has any information on this cruel act of vandalism, please contact the school.
Thursday 29th April:
Our plastic bottle greenhouse collection is going well. We have so far collected over 100 plastic bottles which have been collected and stacked on bamboo poles. We are now busily collecting 6ft bamboo poles to keep up with the bottles! If anyone was able to donate any 6ft bamboo polls they would be much aprciated. Thank you for your effort so far!
Wednesday 21st April:
Pupils intending on coming to gardening club on Thursday nights will need to bring some old clothes to change into. Guitar lessons will now take place on Thursday afternoons. We have started a monumental mission of collecting 1,500+ 2L plastic pop bottles for our planned plastic bottle greenhouse. Could the plastic bottles please be washed in soapy water before being sent in to school.
Tuesday 13th April:
Just a reminder that the new Cheeky Monkey club activities begin this week. See (Friday 19th March) for more information.
Monday 22nd March:
Children in Year 5 & 6 will need to bring old clothes to change into tomorrow as they will be planting their vegetables and plants.
Friday 19th March:
Having had an excellent response to the Cheeky Monkey Club proposed activities we can now confirm the schedule for Cheeky Monkey Club after school activities next term are:
Monday - Aerobics - 3.30-4.30pm
Tuesday - Board Games - 3.30-4.30pm
Thursday - Gardening - 3.30-4.30pm
Friday - Film Night - 3.30-5.00pm
All activities will include a drink and crisps and will start the first day back in school after the Easter Holidays (Tuesday 13th April). If you would like your child to attend the activities the cost is £3.00 per day. However, if you would like your child to remain until the end of the normal Cheeky Monkey Club, 5.25pm, then the cost will be £5.00.
Nursery children wishing to attend Club will be supervised from 3:15-3:30pm - Please see Kinga for details.
Thursday 11th March:
We have had some concerns expressed about a website called 'Vizwoz' that some of our pupils have been using. This is a site intended for children that allows them to go into various 'Worlds' and chat (i.e. a chatrooom). Firstly, this website can't be accessed from school as we have a protected intranet nanny which blocks websites which we do not want children to use (Both Mr. Phillips and Mr. Roberts have checked this). The website is perfectly fine to use as far as we are aware, however, as far as we can ascertain, there is no restriction as to who can access the site or join in the chatroom. Therefore we would urge parental caution if you are allowing your child to use it. It is also always best that children use the internet in a public area of the house, where usage can be monitored, rather than tucked away in their bedroom with a shut door.
The Easter Parade will be at 2:00pm on Thursday 25th March. Juniors are going to be making egg themed models whereas infants will be making bonnets and hats. Parents are welcome to attend.
Easter Holiday dates are as follows: Monday 29th March - Friday 9th April.
Monday 12th April will be an INSET Day.
No car is to park, or drop off on the yellow zigzags in front of the school gates. This causes a danger to the children and there have been a number of complaints from parents about a minority of drivers that do this. We have contacted the police about this matter and they have agreed to show a presence in the future.
Tuesday 9th March:
During the Summer Term we are hoping to start the following activities in Cheeky Monkeys Club:
Gardening
First Aid (10 Weeks)
Aerobics
Film Night (with free popcorn, drins and sweets.)
Children attending these activities between 3:30 and 4:30 will be charged £3.00. Those attending for the full Cheeky Monkeys session between 3:30-5:25 will be charged the normal fee of £5.00.
We would also like to start a German After School Club on Wednesdays for Year 5/6 only. This will be an introduction to the German Language in preparation for Comprehensive school. This will run for a period of six weeks between 3:30-4:30 and will cost £3.00 per session.
The funding for Cheeky Monkeys club is coming to an end. We currently do not hae enough children attending on a regular basis to make the club sustainable. We are introducing new activites starting after Easter to encourage more childen to attend. We would be grateful for some feed back on the new proposed activities to gauge pupil/parent interest. Please could you fill in the slip attached to the paper version of this letter which is went out at the end of the school day today.
Monday 3rd March:
Cheeky Monkeys Club have arranged an American Football Taster session next Friday 12th March with a qualified instructor. The session will run from straight after school to 5:25. Places are limited to 30 children and allocated on a first come first served basis. The cost will be £3. If your child is interested please reurn the slip brought home with your child today.
Monday 1st March:
We held our annual Eisteddfod this afternoon. Last week, our pupils completed art and handwriting activities which were judged by the teachers. This afternon our pupils joined up with their house colours and coompeted in activites such as country dancing, choir singing, duets and Welsh sketches. All results were taken in and the final standings saw Gwyrdd come in in third, Glas in second and Coch taking the victory in first place.
1st. Coch - 166
2nd. Glas - 154
3rd. Gwyrdd - 142.
Congratulations to Coch and all of our pupils.
The full results can be found on the following link:
Thursday 25th February:
The St. David's Day Disco due to be held tomorrow (Friday 26th February) has unfortunately had to be postponed to a later date.
Monday 22nd February:
Some dates for the diary:
Monday 22nd February will be an INSET Day
Tuesday 23rd February: Full Governor Meeting at 4:00pm
Monday 1st March: Eisteddfod
Parents Meetings are taking place on the week beginning Monday 1st March. Full days have been allocated between the hours of 9:15am - 3:30pm. No appointments are necessary, first come first served!
Tuesday 2nd March - Nursery & Reception - Mrs. Padgett
Wednesday 3rd March - Year 1/2 - Mrs. Killick
Thursday 4th March - Year 3/4 - Mrs. Hobrow
Friday 5th March - Year 5/6 - Mrs. Price
Thursday 25th March - Easter Parade 2pm (Parents Welcome)
Monday 29th March - Friday 9th April - Easter Holidays
Monday 12th April - INSET Day.
We are looking to set up an after school computer club after Easter. Further details to follow.
Just a reminder to all parents, please refrain from driving onto school premises even if the school gates are open. This is prohibited and is for the safety of all children.
Could parents please save any plastic punnet boxes for Year 5/6 as they make excellent seed trays.
Friday 29th January:
Year 5&6 were fortunate enough to have a visit from Braces Bread on Friday morning. They came to show us how bread is made and how it can help us with our healthy eating. One of our pupils had a chance to make bread using the ingredients that Braces Bread use in their bakery.
Friday 15th January:
School is open as usual on Friday 15th January. Take care on the approach to the school as it is still fairly icy.
Thursday 14th January:
School closed due to the weather, access conditions and staffing issues.
Wednesday 13th January:
School closed due to severe weather and staffing issues.
Tuesday 12th January:
Apologies for school closures lately. Obviously our first concern is the safety of pupils and staff in getting to school. The forecast is poor again for the forthcoming days so we will be utilising the text service, our school answer machine and this wiki to keep you informed. If you need to inform us of a new contact number then ring ring the school a.s.a.p.
Class topics for this term:
Nursery & Reception: Elmer the Elephant - Wild Animals
Year 1/2 - Round and Round, Toys, Time and Space.
Year 3/4 - Plants and Animals
Year 5/6 - World War Two
On Monday 18th January Year 5/6 will be going on a trip to Grangetown Temple. They will be accompanied by Mrs. Price and Mr. Roberts. We need to leave the school at 9:15 am. prompt so children will need to be in school for 9:00 am. We will be back in school for lunch at the normal time. There are a few rules we must adhere to whilst we are there.
1. There are no charges but donations are welcome.
2. No food / drink is allowed in the temple at all.
3. In the prayer hall boys and girls sit separately. They are allowed to mix afterwards.
4. Dress Code: Children must wear school uniform. Children must notnwear sleeveless tops or shirts. Children must not wear shorts. Girls must wear trousers and bring a head scarf. All children must remove their shoes before entering the prayer hall.
Monday 11th January:
School will be open as normal today, Monday 11th January.
Friday 8th January:
School is open Friday 9th January and the trip to the Pantomime is currently scheduled to go ahead. All children booked to go on the Pantomime trip will need to bring a packed lunch.
Thursday 7th January:
School closed due to snow and icy conditions.
Wednesday 6th January:
School closed due to snow.
Friday 1st January:
The Wiki statistics for December saw the Home page as the most commonly viewed page with 308 views. The second most viewed was the Pupil's Pages with 55 views. The third most viewed page was Our Staff with 49 views.
Monday 14th December:
Some information on what is happening this week.
Tuesday 15th - Mother and Toddler Christmas Party PM
Wednesday 16th - Children's Christmas Disco (During school hours). All children will leave school at 3:30pm as usual.
PTA will be providing a make up service and nail service for the girls at a cost of 50p each and also hair spraying (coloured) for the boys at 50p. Pre signed approval will be needed via the slip on the paper version of this newsletter.
Thursday 17th - Children will be visiting the Church for a Christingle Service AM.
Christmas Dinner - if your child normally has sandwiches but would like Christmas Dinner, please could you let us know by Tuesday 15th. The price will be £1.70.
Friday 18th - Special visitor at school - clue, he's round, with a beard and black boots...
Winter Term ends.
Spring Term will resume for children on Tuesday 5th January.
Friday 11th December:
Message from Mr. Phillips:
It is with mixed feelings that I write to tell you that from Easter I shall be leaving my post as Headteacher of Llanharan Primary School to take up a new role as Headteacher of Cwmlai Primary School. I have had a very happy 12 years as both Deputy and Headteacher of Llanharan Primary School. Working with and caring for your children has been an absolute privilege and I thank you for all your help and support over the years.
For your information, I am very pleased to tell you that from Easter to the end of the academic year (July 16th) the school will be in the very capable hands of Mrs. Price as Acting Headteacher.
The official appointment of a new Headteacher will take place during this time, to start in September 2010.
The arrangements for the teaching of the Year 5/6 class from Easter to July 16th will be announced in January.
Yours sincerely
Mr TS Phillips
Headteacher
Other News:
The raffle has been drawn independently by Year 5/6 pupils and the lucky winners of our fantastic hampers and Digital photo frames have been notified. Congratulations to all winners! A big thank you to everyone who donated items and purchased raffle tickets. The hamper idea this year has proved to be a great success.
Friday 4th December:
Next week is Christmas Concert week. There is a general rhearsal on Monday, Tuesday is Dress Rehearsal at 1:30pm. Performance information is as follows:
There are still some tickets available.
For the evening concerts, please could children arrive from 5:30pm and STRICTLY NOT BEFORE. The building will be locked and no admittance granted before 5:30pm. (Audience will be admitted from 5:30pm also). Please collect Infant children after the evening concert at 6:30pm and Junior children after the evening concert at 6:45pm.
Thank you very much to those parents who have already donated items towards the hampers that are being raffled by the PTA at the concerts next week. Just a reminder to those parents who have not yet donated, items are to be in school by Monday 7th December please. Listed below are the to be donated for each class, however, we will be very grateful for any items.
Nursery / Reception: Chocolate / Sweets
Year 1/2: Tins, Pickles, Chutneys etc...
Year 3/4: Bottles, Jars (jams, sauces, wine, beer, soft drinks)
Year 5/6: Cakes, biscuits, mince pies, chocolate logs etc...
Staff are also making contributions to the hampers.
Tuesday 1st December:
The Wiki statistics for December are in. As usual, Home page leads the way with 622 views. Pupil's Pages came second with 175 views and Fun Zone came third with 151 views.
Friday 20th November:
Today our children and staff came to school dressed in pyjamas, dressing gowns and slippers! Thanks to all of the donations we managed to raise a fantastic £111.21 for Children in Need.
Thursday 19th November:
Tomorrow is Children in Need day and we have asked our children to do something different by wearing their pyjamas! As a result of this, unfortunately we have had to cancel swimming for Year 1&2 on Friday this week.
Sunday 1st November:
The most commonly viewed page on our Wiki last month was the Home page with 135 views. The second most frequently visited page was Our Staff with 39 views followed by Pupil's Pages in third with 35 views.
Thursday 15th October:
We are in need of new members to join our PTA group. We have a stalwart of permanent members who work relentlessly to put together our discos, film nights and not to mention our amazing Summer Fete. We want these events to continue, as we don't want the children to miss out on the things they enjoy such as their presents off Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny etc... We are unable to run our Halloween Disco this year as we simply do not have enough PTA members in order to do so. If you could help in some way and would like to become a member of the PTA we are arranging a meeting to discuss future events on Wednesday 4th November at 3:30pm in the hall. New and previous members please come along, we would be very happy to see you!
Mrs. Killick's and Mrs. Hobrow's classes will be going on a trip to Llancaiach Fawr on Tuesday 20th October. Children need to arrive in school at 9:00am for registration as we need to leave promptly. Pupils are required to bring a packed lunch for the trip.
We have some spaces open for guitar lessons on Friday afternoon. These will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. If your child is interested please complete and return the form attached to the paper version of this letter which pupils took home today. Pupils are required to have their own guitar to participate.
Do you have any unwanted K-Nex modelling equipment that is no longer needed at home? If so we could put it to good use. We would like to use K-Nex forscience/ICT projects this year and we are looking for donations. If you could help we would be very grateful.
Please could parents ensure that they make it clear to their children if they are going to be attending after school clubs. We have had a number of instances recently where children do not know it they should attend or not, which results in phone calls having to be made and a lot of confusion.
Children's last day in school is Friday 23rd October and children return to school on Monday 2nd November.
We have been assured by Colorfoto that the individual photographs that were taken recently will be in school by Friday 23rd October.
Saturday 3rd October:
The Wiki stats for October had the Home page as the most commonly visited page with 162 views, Year 5&6 second with 49 views and Pupil's Pages third with 38 views.
Friday 2nd October:
We are hoping to take Mrs. Killick's and Mrs. Hobrow's class to Llancaiach Fawr Manor house as part of their history studies. The day includes a tour of the house plus a school activity. We are planning to have the trip on Tuesday 20th October leaving school at 9:15 am and leaving Llancaiach Fawr at 1:30 pm. The cost will be £8.00 per child (£5.00 & £3.00 for transport). A packed lunch will be required. Please do not include fizzy drinks and ensure that the lunch is placed in a bag clearly labelled with your child's name. Please fill in and return the attached slip with the paper form of this letter as soon as possible.
Wednesday 30th September:
The sponsored Cardiff City penalty shoot-out will take place tomorrow (Thursday 1st October). Could you please send you child to school on the day with their sponsor forms to ensure that they can participate. The forms will then be verified with the amount of penalties scored. Many thanks for all of your support in this fund raising event.
Just a reminder that the Nursery / Reception trip to the New Theatre on Friday 2nd October. Children are expected to come to school with a packed lunch and please ensure that they are in school by 9:15am as we need to leave promptly after registration.
Individual school photographs will be taken in school on Wednesday 7th October. Any family photographs with pre-school siblings will be taken in the hall starting at 8:45am. The rest of the photographs will be taken throughout the morning. Please ensure that photo request form, attached to the paper version of this niewsletter which was sent home is completed and returned to school as soon as possible.
Friday 18th September:
The votes have been counted and the new members of this year's school council have been announced. Our representitives for this year are as follows:
Nursery & Reception: Eliza, Thomas H, Cassie and Joshua
Year 1: Natasha and Ellis
Year 2: Sophie and Edward
Year 3: Jordan Wa. and Chloe
Year 4: Lauren and Shane
Year 5: Charlotte and Ashley
Year 6: Megan, Chelsea, Corey and Matthew
Congratulations to all who participated in the elections and those who were nominated onto the school council.
Friday 11th September:
E3 after school clubs start week commencing Monday 14th. The club and times are the same as mentioned in the news item dated Monday 7th September.
Paid after school care club to begin on Monday 21st September. To be held in Mrs. Price's classroom. There wil be 2 qualified staff supervising the children and usual behaviour rules apply. The times are 3:30 - 5:25 pm every evening and the cost is £5.00 per evening and this must be paid in advance on a Monday for however many sessions required that week. E.g. if you wanted Monday, Tuesday and Friday it would be £15.00 payable on the Monday. There is a children's competition to name this after school care club. There is a prize available for the winners and entries are to be received by Wednesday 16th September.
Swimming starts back on the week commencing Monday 14th September.
Year 5/6 will be leaving school straight away at 9:15 am. Please could Year 5/6 pupils arrive in school for 9:10 am for early registration and departure. Children get 1 hour in the pool which lasts jut for this term.
Year 2/3 will be swimming Friday 9:15 am please could you ensure children arrive promptly at 9:15 am for registration.
October 1st we are holding a charity penalty shoot out in conjunction with Cardiff City Football Club. Sponsor forms will be dispatched next week.
There are parent meetings taking place which is a chance to learn about topics which your child will be studying for the forthcoming year. The date for these meetings is Monday 21st September and the times are:
Nursery / Reception - 2:00pm
KS1 - Mrs. Killick - 3:30 pm in Mrs. Killick's room.
KS2 - Mrs. Price - 3:30 pm in Mrs. Price's room
The Observer are in school on September 22nd to take a photograph of our children. Can children please wear their school uniforms. If you have any objections to your child having their photograph please contact the school ASAP.
Breakfast Club is available from 8:00 am as normal. If children are not attending breakfast club they should not arrive on school grounds until 9:00 am.
This year every letter that is sent home will be accompanied by a text message to inform you that a letter is on its way. If letters have not been sent home then you can receive a copy from Mrs. Henderson. The letter will also be put up here on the news section of this Wiki.
Just a reminder that Year 1/2 children should be dropped off at the red line (generally where Mr. Phillips's car is parked outside reception) in the mornings. Staff members will be there to receive the children on the infant yard at 9:00 am.
Fruit tuck. Strawberries are now no longer available. Please send money in with your children for one day only in a marked envelope.
Tuesday 8th September:
A link has been posted on the left sidebar of this wiki which directs towards the guestbook that is located on our old school website. This has been done to allow all visitors to this wiki to contribute messages as the discussion page is only for those who have usernames and passwords to this wiki.
Monday 7th September:
A big welcome back to all of the pupils at Llanharan Primary School for the start of another new school year. A reminder that there has been a slight change to the school day. All pupils still start at 9:15 am. Nursery finish at 3:15 pm while all other pupils, including Juniors now finish at 3:30 pm.
School meals: Catering Direct have now increased their prices to £1.70 per day / £8.50 per week.
Fruit Tuck: Year 1-6 - Fresh fruit packs are available every morning at a cost of 50p for strawberries or 30p for the other fruit packs. Please send fruit tuck money in an envelope with your child's name clearly marked on it. Loose money can be easily lost/misplaced particularly by the younger children. Nursery & Reception make their own arrangements for fruit/toast etc... so please see Mrs. Padgett and Mrs. Hopkins for details.
E3 After School Clubs:
Tuesday - Dragon Sports 3:30 - 5:15pm (ages 7-11)
Wednesday - Acticity Club 3:30 - 5:00pm (GES 3-11)
PE Days:
Nursery & Reception - Mrs. Padgett - Friday
Year 1/2 - Mrs. Killick - Monday
Year 3/4 - Mrs. Hobrow - Thursday
Year 5/6 - Mrs. Price - Thursday
PE Kits consisting of shorts, T-shirts and trainers are to be brought to school on these days.
Violin lessons - Mrs. Turner's lessons will take place on a Tueday Morning
Guitar Lessons - With Mr. Roberts (day to be confirmed)
Swimming for Year 2/3 and 5/6 will be confirmed at a later date as we have not yet had the timetable from RCT.
Tuesday 1st September:
It was nice to see that the Wiki was still being viewed and used during the Summer Holidays. The most commonly viewed page again was the Home page with 55 views. The second most popular page was the Pupil's Pages and third was the Year 1/2 page.
Saturday 1st August:
The Wiki statistics for July show that the most commonly visited page was Home with 672 views. The second most commonly viewed page was Fun Zone with 135 while third was Pupil's Pages with 104 views.
Tuesday 14th July:
Unfortunately, due to the poor weather we have been experiencing, we have had to postpone the sports day which was scheduled for tomorrow as the field is far too wet. We will try to rearrange the event in the Autumn Term.
The new term will start for our pupils on Monday 7th September (staff have three INSET days on 2nd, 3rd and 4th.)
After parent consultations, the alteration of the timing of the school day has been modified with the new times as follows:
Nursery: Start 9:15 am - Finish 3:15 pm
Reception, Year 1, Year 2: Start 9:15 am - Finish 3:30 pm
Year 3, 4, 5, 6: Start 9:15 am - Finish 3:30 pm
All classes will be chaperoned to the gate, nursery children will remain to be collected from the Nursery yard as they are now. We are looking into the idea of a 'walking bus' each morning and home time. This relies on parent volunteers. Further details to be given early in September.
We have made progress in setting up an after school care club. We are awaiting confirmation from the county, but it looks like we will be able to start this club from Monday 14th September. Further details will be given during the week of Monday 7th - Friday 11th September.
Monday 13th July:
Year 3/4/5 harvested their crop of onions and potatoes today. They were impressed with the amount of each crop that had grown and decided that if they plant them earlier next year they can grow a lot more. A by-product of the harvest meant that their classroom had a delicious onion scent all day. Year 1/2 also picked their potatoes from their grow bags this morning and had a bumper crop!
Friday 3rd July:
Sports day was postponed today and is re-scheduled for Wednesday 15th July at 1:30pm. The difficult decision to postpone was taken after an inspection of the field this morning. It was found to be sodden due to the heavy rain that fell overnight and due to concerns about health and safety risks the decision was made to re-schedule.
Reporting to parents will take place on the following dates:
Monday 6th July - Nursery & Reception - Mrs. Padgett - 9:15-12:15 & 1:15 - 3:30pm
Tuesday 7th July - Year 1/2 - Mrs. Killick - 9:15-12:15 & 1:15-3:30pm
Thursday 9th July - Year 5/6 - Mrs. Price - 9:15-12:15 & 1:15-3:30pm
Friday 10th July - Year 3/4/5 - Mrs. Hobrow - 9:15-12:15 & 1:15-3:30pm
Thursday 2nd July:
Our vegetable patch now has two scarecrows defending our crops. Nursery & Reception made the male scarecrow while Year 1/2 made the female.
Wednesday 1st July:
The end of another month and time for more monthly Wiki stats! The most commonly visited page was our 'Home' page with 1670 views. The second most popular page was 'Year 5/6' with 338 views and third was our 'Vote for our new Wiki Logo' with 304 views.
Tuesday 30th June:
The Juniors went on their end of year trip to Legoland Windsor. Click the following link for a full reoprt.
Legoland Trip 2009
Tuesday 16th June:
Unfortunately we have had to cancel the assembly we were going to hold on Friday afternoon to showcase some of the work we have been doing during Literacy Week as the hall will be needed in preparation for the fete.
Rob Lewis, the fantastic children's author who visited our school yesterday left a message on our main website which we shall repeat on here.
"Your wiki is brilliant. I had a lovely time at your school yesterday. It was great that the sun shone all day and we were able to work outside. Apparently, in Mid Wales it rained!! The photos look really great. I hope the rest of your literacy week goes well, and the weather is good for your school fete. Best wishes to you all! Rob."
Monday 15th June:
Mr. Phillips Science Challenge - Each team will design and build a bridge to span a 60cm 'river'. The bridge must stand either side of the 'river', and have no legs in the 'river' itself. The bridge must be free standing, and be able to hold the 'Troll' (represented by a weight). Each team must have one adult member. The children have chosen teams today, so we will be on the look out for adult helpers. Equipment provided will be a newspaper and a roll of sellotape. Rulers, scissors and pencils will be available for construction, but must not be part of the bridge itself. Teams will gather in the hall at 10:15 am on Friday. Construction commences at 10:30 am. Each bridge will be tested from 11:30 am.
Sunday 14th June:
A Literacy Week page has been added to the side navigation bar (Just under 'Our News') for the period of our special week and will remain for a further week afterwards. The link will then be removed but will remain on the site via a link in the 'Our News' section.
Tuesday 9th June:
As part of our literacy week (Monday 15th-Friday 19th June) we have some great activities planned for our pupils. We have lots of information about the event here. Our Closing Assembly will be on the Friday 19th at 2:30pm and parents are welcome to attend. On Wednesday 17th, we will be holding a Mad Hatters Tea Party (hopefully outdoors). The idea is that all pupils will wear a hat on the day. This could be a made hat, a hat you already own, or maybe you could re-use/re-decorate your Easter hat. The best hat in each class will win a prize. School will supply cakes, biscuits and drinks for the tea party.
The fancy dress company have agreed to come into school to show us some sample costumes ready for our fete on Saturday 20th. Children's outfits start from £5.00 and Adults from £12.00. Accessories such as hats are also available to purchase. They will be in school on Wednesday 10th June between 12 noon and 3pm. Please feel free to come along and see what is on offer.
Thursday 4th June:
Our vegetable patches are really starting to grow thanks to the fantastic weather and the regular daily watering they have received from our pupils. We are hoping to grow potatoes, runner beans, dwarf beans, onions, radishes, pumpkins, cabbges and carrots.
We are also busy working at building up our compost heap to produce natural compost to aid the growth of our vegetable patches. The pupils have been collecting the grass after it has been cut and putting it in our compost holder. Fruit and vegetable waste is alos put in the compost holder daily by our pupils and staff.
Wednesday 3rd June:
There will be no swimming for Years 2&3 this Friday (05/06/09). Friday 5th June will be a Non-Uniform Day. We are asking for donations of a tin/bottle to go for the School Fete on Saturday 20th June. Friday 12th June will also be a Non-Uniform Day. We are asking for a donation of pre-prepared cakes (shop bought) to also go towards the School Fete. We feel that Birthday cakes for the Junior children are inappropriate, if you really would like to mark the occasion in school then could parents please provide small individual cakes (i.e. fairy cakes) or small chocolate bars which can be distributed easily at the end of the day.
Monday 1st June:
After our first full month of our Wiki being live, we can see which pages have been the most frequently visited throughout the month of May. The most visited page was the 'Home' page with 189 views, followed by 'Our Staff' with 115. The most commonly visited class page was 'Year 5/6' with 100 views. Which member of staff had the most page views last month? That title went to 'Mr. Phillips' with 19 views.
Friday 22nd May:
The junior pupils have been busy using their ICT design skills to come up with designs for a new logo for our Wiki. A shortlist of four was drawn up after a vote amongst the members of staff and a vote was created on the wiki (which can be accessed from the Home page). The voting will continue until Thursday June 11th. Get voting now!!!
Friday 27th February:
Today we held our St. David's Day celebrations. Our pupils have been working all week on competitions composing of elements including art, handwriting and designing a paper plate in a Welsh theme. Our mini-Eisteddfod will see the pupils compete in their house colours in country dancing and singing. The results for the competitions were:
Tuesday 10th February:
Today we were visited by a string quartet.There were five musicians in total all playing a variety of instruments such as violins, cello and piano. They played various familiar tunes such as the theme tunes to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, A whole New World and a variety of nursery rhymes. At some points during the performance, volunteers were invited to play some of the instruments, including Mr. Phillips. We learned about the different ways in which we could play the instruments and some of the musical techniques that can be used. A volunteer was asked to come out in front of everyone to conduct the mini orchestra. The performance was enjoyed so much that an encore was requested! To satisfy the desire to hear more the group finished with a rendition of the theme tune from Match of the Day.
What did you think of the performance? Discuss it in our discussion page (school members only).